Book Update – Newspaper Coverage & Book Flood

Releasing a book into the light of day is both exciting and frightening. You spend literally years in the process of researching it, writing it and editing it – and in my case months beyond that, as I also did all the work of typesetting and publishing, and even drew the cover designs. That’s a big investment of time and energy – and so, there always the lingering spectre of doubt hanging over your shoulder, whispering “what if no-one’s interested?”. It’s hard not to listen, sometimes, because there’s always something more ‘sensible’ you could be doing…

After a month, with the first few bits of launch publicity out of the way, I am both pleased and relieved to say that the spectre’s voice is fading. Though not entirely exorcised – things could all yet go wrong – it is certainly in retreat. I sent the book forth into the world at the end of August, supported by a one-man marketing operation co-ordinated from my living room, and so far, after a month, it has been covered in at least 7 newspapers. There may be more, possibly as many as 9 – I’m not 100% sure because I haven’t worked out how many of the print editions in the southwest of Scotland ran something.

The newspapers that covered it are regional rather than national, but between them cover a pretty extensive area encompassing the Scottish Borders, Dumfries & Galloway and Cumbria in England. These are the very areas in which much of the action of the book plays out, and the coverage has served to spark a groundswell of interest in local communities whose worlds have just received an unexpected infusion of mythology & magic. A steady stream of sales has come flowing in, and for each and every one I am profoundly grateful. In a project like this success can’t be measured simply in money; I put a large portion of my life into searching out these stories, and so to know that they are now out there, entwining themselves into the lives of others, is a very precious thing indeed.

So far, it is in Cumbria that the greatest interest seems to have emerged. I have in fact been invited to join a book festival in the county, running from the 22nd-30th of October, called the “Moorforge Book Flood“. It is, rather wonderfully, to be held in a Viking longhouse! Moorforge is a reconstructed Norse community from the Dark Ages, a kind of settlement touched on in the book, and whose era the book examines in detail.

The “Book Flood” itself is an attempt at introducing a Scandinavian tradition to the region. Every year in Iceland, books are given as presents on Christmas Eve, with the family immediately curling up to read theirs by the fire with plenty of hot drinks. In preparation for this long-anticipated evening, a large number of books are released over the months running up to Christmas, commencing with the arrival in every home of a national “Journal of Books” covering all the new releases. This period is the “Book Flood” itself; an inundation of new literature arriving in the land as the light starts to fade, and the evenings grow long. It’s a beautiful tradition, and I’ll by very pleased to play a part in giving it a wider audience.

I will be delivering a reading and a talk at 4pm on Sunday the 23rd of September, and my book “The Ghosts of the Forest” will be available to purchase throughout the week from the festival bookstand. Timings for my talk are available here, and the whole event Facebook page can be accessed here;

If you’re in the area over the October holiday week, do drop by! It would be a pleasure to meet some new readers, and introduce the book in person – and at an event which promises to be a great one. Thanks once again for giving this your attention, and I hope to have the opportunity to meet you soon…

For more on the book “The Ghosts of the Forest” click here.